Machaerus Revealed: Anastilosis and Architectural Reconstruction after the Surveys and Excavations of the Archaeological Monument

Abstract

The article presents the preliminary results of the six-month-long archaeological field surveys and excavations of the Hungarian Academy of Arts from 2009 to 2011 at the Machaerus in Transjordan, from the sites of the architectural reconstructions, anastilosis restorations and the monument-presentation. On the layouts it first presents the architectural remains of the three subsequent periods of the fortress, then it demonstrates how the archaeological site might have looked like two millennia ago by architectural reconstruction drawings (prepared on helicopter shots). In the introduction it draws the attention of the importance of Machaerus in the eastern defending network of Jerusalem during the Hasmonean and the Herodian eras, and proves with a photograph its former direct optical-connection with the Temple of Jerusalem as well. The study is a continuation of the author’s article appeared last year (LA 60 [2010] 349-361); it is launching the upcoming Machaerus – Final Report that will be distributed by the Edizioni Terra Santa and will be published in the academic series of the SBF Collectio Maior in Jerusalem.